Wednesday, December 7, 2005

In an attempt to help reduce local waste levels, John Gray High School Recyclers have been collecting
six-pack soda ring holders and at the end of last month the students handed over an impressive 1,000 plastic six-pack rings
to Bodden Beverages.

This marks the fifth time that the recyclers have presented rings which are reused by the beverage
company to convert 12-pack cases of soda into the more popular six pack cases. The company benefits from the students’
efforts by not having to order and ship more rings in from the United States and in turn, Bodden Beverages pays to ship excess
soda rings to a recycling facility in California.

“We have always tried to save and reuse the six-pack rings on a small scale,”
said company owner and manager Rose Bodden.

“But with the recyclers’ help we have advanced to a much larger scale of collection,
greatly helping us, the environment and our customers.”

Recycling Foreman for the Department of Environmental Health (DEH), Angello Roy and recycling mascot
Iggy the Iguana were on site at Bodden Beverages to show their support for the recyclers’ efforts. Since Hurricane Ivan,
the DEH has been unable to replace recycling equipment, but staff tries to find other methods to preserve and reuse resources.
”It takes decades for plastic six-pack rings to decompose; re-circulating them ensures that they will not sit in the
George Town landfill for years or pose threats to birds and other animals,” explained Mr. Roy.

The recyclers are committed to this recycling programme and have petitioned help from gas stations,
stores and even their parents’ workplaces to collect the rings on their behalf. If members of the public are interested
in helping to collect six-pack soda rings, the items can be dropped off directly to JGHS in care of school secretary Marguerita
Thompson, or collections can be arranged by emailing the recyclers at johngrayrecyclers@hotmail.com.

More information about six-pack holder recycling and other John Gray Recyclers projects can be
found at www.johngrayrecyclers.org.